Bless The Broken Road
by D7Tribute
Summary: Post-Mockingjay. Rory and Posy go back to District 12 where they live with Harman, a member of Gale's mining team. Harman's little sister Aria has a bit of an interest in Rory, but of course, he's still dwelling on Prim. First story, please be nice, I'm not that great at stuff like this but thought I'd give it a try. T because of some language later. Contains SPOILERS.
1. In Among the Ruins

My older brother's mopping up peacekeepers in 2. My mother is still in 13, helping with the school. My little brother and the girl I love were both killed in a parachute explosion in the Capitol. And yet me and my baby sister have to come back home, to district 12. Even though there isn't a home to come back to. I bend over and put my arms out behind me, she climbs up and I shove away the quiet moans of pain that nearly escape my lips. It takes her a little more effort to get on my back than usual, a little more effort to lift her, but we hide it. No room for extra effort today, not with what I know is lying ahead. As my feet find the familiar path, I can't help but run through that last night's events in my head. The memories are patchy, but they are vivid and painful. Those ones attack me when I least expect it, like knives through my shattered heart.

Watching the games. Prim burying her face into me when Johanna Mason cut the tracker from Katniss's arm. Katniss blowing up the arena. Hearing the hovercrafts. Silence and then fire. Smelling the smoke. Gale yelling at everyone. Leading us to the fence. A group of people pulling it down. Me bending down to give Posy a piggyback. Prim. She was everywhere. Sitting next to me on the sofa. Grabbing my arm when we ran out of the house. Always running by my side. Stopping with me when I had to pick up Posy. Her arms wrapping around my neck, mine around her waist as we watched our district burn. It had never occurred to me before now, but I realised. She had never let go of my hand through the entire bombing of 12. Then, just like that she was lost in the fiery parachute explosion that killed my little brother; Prim was the one girl I've ever really loved. That's when the silent tears begin to fall. Posy's resting her head on my shoulder, so she can't miss them. The fat, salty tears that roll down my cheeks. I sniff and stand a little straighter. I'm head of the charred pile of wood that was once our house. I can't cry. But Posy can.

She's tried hard not to let me notice. But her tears are soaking through my grey District 13 top. Her cheeks are wet. I realise she's been crying since the meadow, so I drop her off of my back and crouch down so she's taller than me. Her grey eyes from the Seam bore into mine. They're red and puffy; she's rubbing her eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling. It's so sudden. The rage that surges through me, boiling in my blood. I hate the Capitol. I hate Snow. He has forced my 5 year old baby sister to grow up faster than she should. He forced her somewhere she didn't want to go. She's just a little kid. She's not even six yet. I reach up and attempt at smoothing out the matted, mop that is Posy's hair. I unknot it with my fingers and let the thin waves fall to her shoulders, her big grey eyes follow me as I stand up. I look down and give her a half-smile. She grins back easily, masking the pain, a skill she has mastered in her short little life.

We clamber under the fence and walk down our old road. Taking in the wreckage. Blackened, twisted metal. Clusters of crispy roof tiles, piles of ashes everywhere. A pang of longing rips through me as we walk past home. It was there, once. Now, there are just ashes. Ashes, burned blocks of dark wood and broken pieces of undisturbed furniture. I pause, stopping to pull a charred old toy of Posy's from the rubble. It's the rabbit. Her lucky rabbit she gripped so tightly, as we ran from our house. The one she had dropped, the one mother wouldn't let her go back for. It is lucky, I guess. After all that's happened, it's a ray of sunshine peeking through the dark thunderclouds that hang over our heads, threatening to burst, to bring on a new onslaught of pain and suffering in our lives. I hand Posy her rabbit, she snatches it out my hand and clutches it tightly to her chest, holding fast to the one shred of home that's left. It takes all I have to tear my eyes away from where my house stood, but I do. I reach out and squeeze Posy's hand, pulling her away.

We arrive in the town square and the breath catches in my throat. Posy makes a hiccupping gasp and bursts into tears again. The black, dusty skeletons of shops and houses line the streets that were once brimming full of murmuring, bustling people. There are carts, dotted around, full of the ugly half-decomposed bodies. The stench threatens a reappearance of my unsatisfying breakfast from 13. I bend my head to check on Posy, she's covering her nose with her rabbit, sucking her thumb like she used to when she was a baby. I notice Harman and a few others who work on Gale's mining team. He glances up, grey eyes reflecting the sunlight as they jump out of his grime-streaked face. The corners of his lips pull up slightly, and he nods his head. Harman murmurs something to the other men and strides over to me, his tanned face plastered with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. Why would it? He wouldn't smile, he's not at all happy with being stuck watching out for me, but Posy too? It's asking a little too much.

"It's tough, I know. But it's better done sooner than later." Harman bends down to hoist Posy up onto his shoulder. He shuffles her around, tickling her, making her laugh. I haven't heard my sister laugh for months.

"Home?" Harman looks down at me, waiting for conformation.

"Home." I say, trying out the word. It sounds funny, since my home doesn't exist, but I have a new one now. I need to get used to that. I nod slightly, just enough so Harman knows I'm fine.

"Yes," I confirm, "Home."


	2. Better Than Expected

Thank you for reviewing (those who did) and I really hope you enjoy this chapter. It's kind of short but it's essential for the rest of the story. This is the chapter where we introduce Aria. So yeah, it's important. Just want to let everyone know that if you have any ideas for what's going to happen, feel free to PM me because I occasionally suffer from Writer's Block, and it would be great to tie in other ideas to the story. A Primrose means 'I can't live without you' *gives my readers prims* THANK YOU. Please review. Love you

It's better than I expected. Harman's house is the more stable-looking of the houses on his street. The walls might not fit together quite right, and there might be holes in the roof, but the effort he's made to make it a more habitable place screams for attention. There are only two rooms, one bedroom and living area, the other is a small kitchen. I can hear pots clanging about and the welcoming smell of boiling wild turkey, carrots and tesserae grain beckons to me like silky fingers. Harman drops Posy off of his shoulders and sits her on a pile of blankets.

"So, Posy," Harman looks very serious, "This is where you'll be sleeping. See? Perfect Posy sized. And NO BOYS. OK?"

Posy chuckles, Harman tries to look deadly serious and I start to laugh. I can even hear a muffled giggle coming from the kitchen.

"You too, Aria!" Harman shouts back at the giggles in the kitchen.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Her voice flutters over Posy's unstoppable laughter, and its right behind me. I turn to try and see her, but she's dodged around me and is talking to Posy. They stand up and begin to walk to the door; just as they leave, Aria begins to speak.

"Harman, we're going to get some dandelion leaves for some greens, if you let that turkey burn, we're eating you for dinner!" She yells over her shoulder as the door closes.

"And that, Rory," Harman says "Is what Posy will be like when she's 14."

I chuckle and follow him as he walks through to the kitchen. It's like a butcher's and baker's and vegetable shop all in one little kitchen. Fresh rabbits and turkeys hang in a cupboard filled with ice and pitchers of cold water. Fresh bread, rich with nuts and berries sit side by side on shelves all around the walls. Leaves and roots hang on string from the ceiling, drying in the breeze of an open window, different sizes, shapes, and shades of green tickle my face as I walk to the window. I peer through and spot Posy running to the door shouting to someone, I assume its Aria. Posy is carrying a little woven wicker basket filled with the yellow flowers and leaves, a smile that stretches from ear to ear lights up her whole face, leaving her eyes ablaze with a happiness that has been absent for a year. They skip into the kitchen laughing, and she's standing in front of me. Directly in front of me. I give her double take and her beauty hits me like a troop of peacekeepers.

She's a little shorter than me and she's crossed her feet over each other. She's wearing black trousers that have a tear in the side, stained with blood and mud. A pair of worn brown boots halfway up her shins. A faded navy blue and grey check shirt that looks to be 3 sizes too big so it must be her brother's. A deep purple jacket hangs off one shoulder it reminds me of the one Katniss wore in her first arena, which reminds of Prim, which breaks my heart again. She's got curly brown hair that falls just beneath her elbows and a little fringe flops over her forehead. The corners of her rosy-pink lips pull up in a lazy smile and freckles dot her nose. Her eyes gleam a toffee brown, which suggests a distant connection with another district, but I know better than to question it. I look straight into them and return the smile.

"I'm Rory, by the way. My little sister's called Posy." I hold out my hand and she takes it graciously, we share a firm handshake and she gives it what I think, is meant to be a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm Aria, shame we didn't meet earlier, when I was actually half sane-"she begins, and glances round behind me to realise there is a cloud of black smoke coming from one of the pots on the stove.

"Harman, you dipshit!" She yells eyes ablaze with fury, "I specifically told you to not let the fucking turkey burn! You just completely ignored me. I may have been joking about it earlier but you just fucking let it burn. You can cook the bloody dinner next time. Seriously!" She storms out, hair whipping out behind her and she leaves. Harman shoots me a sheepish look and opens his mouth to explain, but he thinks twice.

"She should probably tell you why she does that. She does it a lot actually. Flips out like that. It's not her fault, she does it involuntarily. Our mother did that. It's inherited. The tiniest thing can set her off, but then she'll be back to normal five seconds later. It's a thing you learn to live with." He gestures to the doorway and I poke my head around it, preparing for an onslaught. To my surprise, she's sat on what I'm guessing is her bed, giggling with Posy about something. Harman was right then, she gets over it quickly. Aria looks up, eyes dancing with laughter, and gives me a quick wink. This just sets her and Posy off laughing more than ever. For the first time since Prim, I actually feel like I could say or do anything and she'd be happy.

She jumps up, causing the dark waves that cascade down her back to swing. She goes straight into the kitchen and I hear a sharp slap. I turn and Posy comes running up behind me to hide behind my legs. Harman is rubbing the back of his head and Aria's spooning out vegetables and blackened turkey onto tin plates. She glances up, noticing we're all watching her. She catches my eye and blushes a little, bowing her head to try and hide it.

"Go on then. Go make yourselves comfortable. Rory, can you help me please?" I can hear the smile in her voice when she says my name. I wander over once Harman has tickled Posy out of the room and help to dish out the tesserae grain. We still get it, even after the games are over. I help to take the plates into the others who are sitting patiently on a makeshift bench; they are trying desperately not to laugh. Once we have set the food down Posy begins to shovel it into her mouth like she'll never see any food again. I laugh at her and nudge the others who laugh too. Posy, who doesn't even know why we're laughing, joins in; the light sound fluttering over the rest of us.

I think that life in District 12 will be alright after all.


End file.
